Writing, posting pictures of all kinds and links to some of my favorite places. An electic mix of politics, commentary, knitting and food - let's just sit and enjoy each other's company and a cup of tea. Come join me - I'd love to chat with you!

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

No Guns Allowed....And Don't Text, In Case...

...the guy behind you is a retired cop with a gun.Seriously. Here's the link: http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/13/justice/florida-movie-theater-shooting/This guy texts his 3 year old. OK, aside from the fact that it's ok for mommy and daddy to have a date night and who texts their toddler anyway??? -- he's texting and he's not supposed to be.Cop-with-attitude-and-handgun asks him to quit. They argue. Again - really? If you're that anxious to text your toddler, then perhaps (a) you stay home; or (b) you GET UP AND WALK OUT OF THE THEATRE. CWA+G goes to get theatre employee, apparently comes back really annoyed, sans employee.Again - USHERS??? That's what they're supposed to be there for, and if not an usher, how about a manager???Then shots fly. Texting Daddy dies. CWA+G sits down after shooting, with handgun in lap. Only in Florida. Well, not really, but come on. A black kid gets shot because some vigilante nut job thinks he "looks suspicious" and now this??Screen in the movie theatre says "Please don't text. And handguns not allowed in theatre." Well. There you go. Everyone plays by the rules, right? Just one more responsible gun owner exercising HIS freedoms. Except somewhere in Florida, there's a toddler now without a dad. Sure, the dad was being a jerk texting in the theatre. Sure, the theatre posted warnings. But really - the retired cop HAD to shoot him? Why? The light from his phone bothered the cop???This does not bode well for a couple of things.First off, Florida just might beat Chicago in gun violence. That would wreak havoc on the tourist trade... "Come to Florida. With Luck, Leave Alive." There's a ringing endorsement!!Second, of course, is Illinois' recent leap into insanity (well, MORE insanity) by allowing itself to be bought by the NRA. We were, up until last year, the only sane state in the US. Broke. Corrupt. But SANE - no "concealed carry" here. Well, no LEGAL concealed carry. But noooooooooo - the NRA and gun-nut-lobby folks had to have their way. So now, people are applying for concealed carry permits. They are required to pass background checks and take 16 hours of gun safety courses, but there are still too many loopholes... Enough for one of Former and Jailed Governor George Ryan's illegally-licensed CDL drivers to drive through. Unscathed. Take, for instance, road rage. Illinois, especially Chicago and the collar counties, is infamous for its traffic snafus. Let's put it this way:

Hillside Strangler

One of our worst areas for traffic is nicknamed "Hillside Strangler." Then there's Lower Wacker in Chicago. Then there's Rt. 80, where if you're not a trucker, you're road kill. Then there's... well, anywhere else in the immediate "crossroads" area in and around Joliet. For example, just try to get anywhere during "rush hour" at Rt. 80 coming into Joliet. At Larkin or Rt. 55. Or try to get somewhere on Rt. 53 going toward Bolingbrook. Yep. Let's let everyone carry guns in their cars. That'll fix the traffic situation.I talked to a friend who's a Vietnam vet and thank you very much, a good video game will do just fine; he's not interested in owning a gun anymore. The Army cured that itch. He says that his ideal would be to not have "concealed" carry. "Just have them carry open - at least then you know." Which is a good point. Let's just let it all hang out. Then I can see you. I mean, think about this. What do you do when you see someone creepy, maybe in an elevator or coming at you on the sidewalk? The SENSIBLE person either doesn't get into the elevator or crosses the street. The SENSIBLE person doesn't go all John Wayne on the other guy. Pardon my cynical nature. But I don't really see "sensible" being the overriding principle now. I see "John Wayne" happening more and more. "I'm safe because I have a gun. I'll take 'em all out!" My friend Chuck says he knows that most civilians aren't prepared. Even with your 16 hours of training. You're just not ready to handle the ramifications of handling a lethal weapon. Guns have no purpose other than killing. Let's be blunt. Guns kill. Whether it's hunting, which by the way I'm fine with, as long as you're eating what you're shooting, or whether it's pointing it at a human. Guns kill. Period. End of sentence. End of discussion. There must be some responsibility somewhere along the line. And it has to be taken by the person holding the lethal weapon. Your hand holds the gun, you must take the consequences, whether they're good or bad. You took the gun. You take the heat. Overall, though, I'm interested to see how this plays out, particularly at my employer. I'm in a university and our policy is pretty simple: No guns on campus. Simple. Mostly one-syllable words. Knitting...

"Rip-it, rip-it, rip-it."

So I frogged again, as I said. It's so bad that, after I cast on YET ANOTHER TIME, Kid #2 says, "What?? Again???" When the kids notice, you know it's an issue.I'm doing a very simple hat. About 1" of Garter stitch (K one row; P the next) and then straight Stockinette. It's on DPNs, but I may nip out to see if I can find a size 7 circular with a 16" cable. Speaking of nipping out to get needles, we had a tragedy at our LYS. It's a store-front, in a strip mall. Apparently, they had someone drive through the window. Into customers who were sitting in the "knitting area." Back in the day when my friend owned the shop, the "knitting area" was in the back, facing the front. Sonda believed that (a) this was cozy and it was usually warmer back there; and (b) she could keep watch on the store from the back. When the new owner took over, she initially had a seating area somewhat in the back, but she recently moved it to the front, right by the plate glass windows. The last time I was in there knitting, I sat on one of the rockers along the side, so that I could see not only the check-out desk (where the employees gathered) but out the window as well.Call me superstitious. Call it the early training I had working in a prison. I just don't like my back to where I can't see something. Even now, at work, my back faces a wall, and I have the view of the windows on my right, and on my left, I can "see" the front entry, peripherally, at least. I'm aware of who's here and where everyone is at. I like that.One of the gals I know was sitting in that chair and she saw the whole thing. Another, who was seated on the couch, had gotten up to go toward the Keurig machine for tea; she was in a prime spot to be hit with the car. The woman who ran into the building apparently thought someone was under her car because she backed away from the window. Had Lynn been under her car, she would have been killed. There was lots of flying glass and the injuries that resulted were from that glass. Each shop owner has the right to do what they please with their establishment. But shortly after this woman took the shop over, someone drove through the plate glass in the shop next to hers. The windows are right at the sidewalk. Logic would tell you that perhaps this was an accident waiting to happen. It's a shame. I don't know what will happen. I hope she opens back up soon, and hasn't spooked her customer base; and I also hope she puts it 'back the way it was.' It's one thing to do your own thing. But really, you should keep the safety of your customers in the forefront of your mind.Listening to...Krishna Das channel on Sirius. Blissing out on just lovely chants from Sean Johnson & The Wild Lotus Band. I need to figure out how to get this on my phone. I know it can do it. It's a Windows smartphone. I can't let the phone be smarter than I am!Reading...Still plowing through the complete Jane Austen. Holy crimoley --- the "Letters" novelas are horrible. Horrible. First off, the language is enough to gag a diabetic. Second, I can't figure out who's who. Third, it's fragmented. Perhaps they had more imagination back then. Perhaps these were the writings that flopped. I'm betting on "flopped." My next book would be the yoga book I have to report on, and then another one from my Kindle; haven't decided which. Maybe "The Princess Bride." I think that would be fun. I need some fun after Jane. The other option is The Canon. Excuse me. "The Complete Sherlock Holmes." It's been a while since I've read The Canon. And with the new season of "Sherlock" coming up, it might be nice to refresh, even though Stephen Moffatt has turned the concept on its head.Not that it didn't need freshening. And I could listen to Benedict Cumberbatch read the phone book. I rather like the idea of trying to figure out where the new stories come from. Sure, some are quite original, but some are takes on the classics. It's an amazing thing to have one character portrayed by such a variety of actors in such a variety of media - and for so long.

Lake Lee, Alberta

Random Picture...This is something I snagged off a friend's Facebook page because it looks amazing. This is actually from Jaime Vedres Photography, and it's Lee Lake in Alberta Canada. Look at the stars. I have been to Alberta, but it was for a meeting with their roofing association. Not a fun trip; I mean, the roofing guys were a hoot, but I didn't see any of the sights. And we went into Alberta when we went on our honeymoon. I want to go back there, because it's a beautiful place. My idea would be to stop in Banff National Park for an extended stay. It's beyond words gorgeous. It would be a great place to take the dogs - except I'm not sure how we'd get them into Canada. Rats. Oh well, it was a thought. If you get a chance, you don't have to go to Europe. You can just go north of the border. Our neighbors to the north are lovely people and they have a lovely country to explore.